Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Straight from the Hezbollah's Mouth

Stephen Pollard is Israel's main cheerleader in the British blogosphere. The whole thing is black and white to him. I guess it's easier that way. I wish I saw things that clearly. His posts today were particularly interesting, especially the one highlighting some comments by the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah...

I told them [the Lebanese government] on more than one occasion that we are taking the issue of the prisoners seriously, and that abducting Israeli soldiers is the only way to resolve it. Of course, I said this in a low-key tone. I did not declare in the dialogue: 'In July I will abduct Israeli soldiers.' This is impossible."Interviewer: "Did you inform them that you were about to abduct Israeli soldiers?"Hassan Nasrallah: "I told them that we must resolve the issue of the prisoners, and that the only way to resolve it is by abducting Israeli soldiers."Interviewer: "Did you say this clearly?"Hassan Nasrallah: "Yes, and nobody said to me: 'No, you are not allowed to abduct Israeli soldiers.' Even if they had told me not to... I'm not defending myself here. I said that we would abduct Israeli soldiers, in meetings with some of the main political leaders in the country. I don't want to mention names now, but when the time comes to settle accounts, I will. So the culpabality and compliance of the Lebanese government in Hezbollah's actions seems clear. They are clearly completely impotent when dealing with Hezbollah. This may not be their fault but having worked all this out for themselves, is it any surprise that Israel should take action against Hezbollah? Israel's mission is clear: to wipe out Hezbollah and then get the hell out. Bearing in mind the history of their 18 year occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000, the precedents are not good. Israel got out in 2000 partly because the Israeli people were fed up with the seemingly never-ending loss of Israeli lives in the area. Will history repeat itself? Let's hope not.

26 comments:

Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation (EU has not put it on it´s list, but that thanks to the French protesting, I rest my case).

Hezbollah is running Southern Lebanon as their own state, Hezbollahstan, and the Lebanese Government can´t do anything about it.

It is common in many Shia families that they send at least one son to the Lebanese army and one son to Hezbollah. Clearly, the Lebanese hesitate to send their army down to South Lebanon and fight with Hezbollah, when they know that many in the army symphatizes with them.

Further, Hezbollah is funded with money and arms by Syria and Iran, but has grown in size, so they don´t take orders from anyone.

Iain, I know you know nothing of the Lebanon, despite having visited it, and know less about the whole Arab Israeli thing, so could I possibly suggest you read an Israeli newspaper? Or perhaps a Lebonease one?

Stephen Pollard seems to be trying to persuade us that Israel have been indulging in 'proportionate response'. Yeah, right. And he is giving Tory elder statesman Peter Tapsell a kicking as well. Many of us who hate anti-semitism reserve the right not to think everything the Israelis do is wonderful, or to defend them when they're wrong.

Not only is this is a truly ancient blood feud, it's also a matter of survival.Smug Islington dinner party pieties -- Imogen, pass me the rocket salad, what do you think about those dreadful Israelis -- will not do here.Amir Taheri, as mentioned in a previous post, is as good a starting point as any.

Sorry chum but the Israeli army, navy and air force did not invade, shell and bomb Lebanon because two soldiers were kidnapped.

This operation was planned long in advance in Virginia USA. This is another CIA/Mossad joint venture. How else do you explain Condi's enigmatic remark about the 'birth pangs of a New Middle East?' How else do you explain the deafening silence of the Arab League (notice no sponsored demo's against the war throughout the Middle East - except of course in good old liberal Tel Aviv!)?

Hezbollah's kidnappings merely triggered the plan and served as the pretext for the offensive. This aint just about the future of 'The Party of God.' It's about every ME issue but particularly the future of the Syrian and Iranian regimes. Once these are removed there will be improvements in Lebanon Palestine and, most importantly, Iraq.

Shame that this plan necessitates the ethnic cleansing of Lebanon's Shia population (and dumping them on Syria - double headache for them with all their businesses being precision bombed by Israeli F16's).

nice to see the perpetual anti-americanism and anti-semitism of the old right is out in force.

How is funding by the US different in kind from Syria or Iran? How is Hezbollah different from the Israeli's? Oh My!

Who used a suicide bomber to kill 200+ US Marines and 40+ French peacekeepers? Who bombed the US Embassy twice? Who took Britons hostage?

But never mind, cause the filthy jews have the bad manners to survive. The more I read of British politics, the more I'm sickened. Where is the old spirit that created the greatest empire on earth, upon which the sun never set? That stood for liberty and justice? Gone down in a sewer of sociliasm that has trapped all, including the Tories.

Well maybe us colonials will just decide to leave you to the tender mercies of the Algerians of the Parisian suburbs, after we evacuate Her Majesty to those realms that truly respect her. I can promise one thing: if we have to come back over the Atlantic, we aren't giving back any territory. We'll just divide it between the Canadians, the Americans, and the Australians.

which shows a picture of UN and HZ flags flying side by side.....also pointing out that allegedly the UN and HZ outpost shown shared water and telephones! This might explain what the Israelis were trying to hit when they sadly caused the deaths of four UN observers.

Benedict:

Haaretz is the Israeli equivalent of the Guardian! It bears no resemblence to the opinions of the Israeli people as a whole (just like the Guardian doesn't speak for most of us over here.. 8-0 )

What people seem to be missing here is that Hizbollah are MEMBERS of the Lebanese government. That there was any possibility of 'democracy' (that much abused Western totemic word) thriving in Lebanon in the presence of an Iranian-controlled military organization more powerful than the Lebanese army and with a pivital role in that 'democracy' always was a pretty stupid idea.

Why do people seem so surprised that the Lebanese government doesn't exert any great hold over Hezbollah? Lebanon has only been free of the malign influence of Syria (and not completely at that)for a year now - is a year long enough to come to terms with an organization of such strength, depth and foreign support?

I credit the Lebanese government for successfully disarming all the other militias in Lebanon in such a short time. Would they have managed to disarm Hezbollah if they'd had another two or three years? Quite possibly not, but I'd have liked them to have a chance to do the job themselves.

Israeli intelligence services are amazing. Somehow they have managed to discover a Hezbollah terrorist disguised as a young girl, a Hezbollah terrorist convoy disguised as civillians leaving a village on Israeli instructions (twice), another Hezbollah convoy disguised as Red Cross Ambulances and 4 Hezbollah terrorists who had infiltrated the UN and been sent to Lebanon as peace keepers.

They're really great, we should take some lessons off them.

I've just seen a 10 year old boy wearing a backpack and I'm worried he might be a Hezbollah terrorist in disguise (they really are masters of disguise you know) ready to plant a bomb, should I phone the police do you think?

Yes but history is repeating itself, Iain and it has a distressing habit of doing so. Sometimes you're too nice by half and expect people to act in a rational manner, though faced with a long history of the opposite being so.

"Hey" I think you're right about the anti-semitism that infects much of the comment on this subject, but the old British empire was no exception; a more anti-semitic bunch than the old colonial gamekeepers it would have been hard to find. "Anonymous" you may well be right that this is an inspired piece of plotting by the US - with an election coming up in the not-too-distant and Bush eager to trailblaze for his republican successor, or else to irrevocably complete the neocon agenda before Hilary takes over, the pressure for a war against Iran and Syria grows by the day.

Last night there was widespread open talk that Israel will destroy the Iran nuclear programme, in effect doing the US's dirty work as a proxy and at the same time satisfying the secret agenda of the Egyptian and Saudi governments who fear Iran's Shia ambitions. And in this sense we are seeing the traditional "use" of the Jews - to carry out the dirty work of the masters who sit back, take the profits and then point to them and say "heh, look, it was the Jews who did it!". No change from King John in the 13th Century.

Terribly sad for genuine peace or resolution in Palestine/Israel, where recently despite all some progress was being made, with Hamas saying it would recognise Israel's right to exist and Israel(albeit with it's own unfair allocations of land self-imposed) saying it would withdraw from the West Bank. All of which will now presumably take another 5 years to return to the same point. But note this well; it is Bush and the neo-conservative worldwide hegemonist agenda that have brought us to this point; US policy that created the situation in Iran when they toppled governments in the past; and US policy that created Al-Queada and Afghanistan, arming the Taliban to the teeth in their proxy war with Russia. Looking back on it, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan now looks both understandable and reasonable. I hate to side with fanatic Wahabi and Shia views against America, but there is something right in their analysis.

Calling Hezbollah "terrorists" is true but it's also unfortunately playing into the neocon/Israel agenda where Israel gets used to fulfill this agenda of hegemony in the once-mythical but now increasingly made-real "war against terror" which of course has always been total rubbish, a mere fabrication of the CIA.

Iain, I have an exciting line in tinfoil hats, and it looks like some commentators here would be potential customers. I will mail you and discuss taking out ad space! (j/k)

Mossad, CIA, preplanned war, coded messages fom Condi... uh what do you all dream at night? Don't you think that there Israeli army has many plans worked out and rehearesed already anyway, covering many possbile scenarios, which incidentally is the way to do it, even in peace times, every army in the world does this -- planning is what armies do, duh.

I am supportive of Israel's actions in this latest conflict, but I don't for a second believe that Nazrallah informed the Lebanese government what he was doing, he is trying to spread the blame for this around. Why on earth would he risk the almost certain exposure of his plan by informing a government that has no great loyalty to Hezbollah?

While I wouldn't take the Hezzbollah leader's word as gospel it seems not unlikely.

The main problem seems to be that it is politically correct (& useful for the oil price) to blame the Jews for stuff we have done, & done worse.

Did those who attacked the Israelis for lack of proportionality (killing a few hundred Lebanese in in response to unprovoked killings of tens of Israelis) publicly accuse the US of a greater lack of "proportionality" after 9/11? We now have a fuss about the accidental bombing of a UN post. Did those same politicians object to NATO bombing the Chinese embassy in the war to help the KLA? Considerably worse & more direct - Did they object (or indeed did the media even seriously report) when the Croatian Nazis, in a war controlled by US officers, captured & used UN observers as human shields (terminally & undeniably deliberately) in advancing on the Serbs?

If we cannot expect Jews to be treated the same as Americans & Brits perhaps it is not asking to much for them not to be treated far worse than our Nazi friends.